Name: Steak with Goat's Cheese Sauce
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 2 medium baking potatoes , total weight about 500g/1lb 2oz, each cut into about 8 wedges; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1-2 tsp fresh thyme leaves; 140g pack Delamere brie-type goat's cheese , at room temperature; 3 tbsp crème fraîche; 1 tbsp green peppercorns , drained and lightly crushed; 2 x 200g/8oz sirloin steaks , about the same thickness as your finger; 2 handfuls of watercress

Why it works: Olive and thyme match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,948 recipes. Both carry methyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells apple, fatty. The science ↓

Steak with Goat's Cheese Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 medium baking potatoes , total weight about 500g/1lb 2oz, each cut into about 8 wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
140g pack Delamere brie-type goat's cheese , at room temperature
3 tbsp crème fraîche
1 tbsp green peppercorns , drained and lightly crushed
2 x 200g/8oz sirloin steaks , about the same thickness as your finger
2 handfuls of watercress

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

401Calories

12 gProtein

23 gFat

39 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Watercress	1 cup (34g)	4

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By bbcgoodfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Olive + thymetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,948 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
Potato + watercresstop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together170 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Thyme + watercresstop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together89 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Potato + thymetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,586 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Potato + olivetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,458 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the potato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, thyme, brie, cheese, watercress):

Mustardfits better
Chivefits better
Welsh onionfits about as well
Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, thyme, brie, cheese, watercress. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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